Chewy, buttery brown-sugar bars studded with chopped fresh cranberries. The tart berries cut through the sweet, cookie-like base, which makes these an easy way to use fresh cranberries during the autumn harvest.
A salmon fillet brushed with a sweet mustard glaze and cooked on a soaked cedar plank, which gently steams the fish and gives it a mild, smoky, slightly sweet flavor. This is a classic of the Pacific Northwest, where salmon has been cooked on cedar for centuries.
A fresh, crunchy salad of sliced roast turkey, celery and tart apples soaked in brandy and dried apricots, set on a bed of lettuce and red cabbage. A light, creamy yogurt and olive oil dressing with chives ties everything together.
A thick, nutty paste made from nothing more than roasted peanuts and water, slow-cooked until the water disappears. Known as mwamba (or muamba), it is the base of moambe-style stews across Central Africa, stirred into fish, shrimp, and chicken dishes or served as a rich sauce on its own.
A coastal Egyptian classic that rarely makes it onto English-language menus: raw shrimp blended with garlic, onion, and warming spices, bound with ground rice, shaped into small croquettes, fried until golden, then simmered briefly in a light tomato sauce. Known at home as koftet el gambari (shrimp kofta), it's especially associated with the Mediterranean coast around Port Said and Damietta, where shrimp and rice are both everyday staples. Served simply, with sliced tomato and lettuce alongside.
Pizza hot dogs bring two cookout favorites into one: grilled beef dogs topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and olives, ready in under 20 minutes.
An American classic from the days when oysters were cheap and everywhere. Soft bread, butter, celery and herbs, folded through with shucked oysters and their briny liquor, then baked until the top goes crisp. It tastes luxurious now, which is the opposite of how it started.
Few desserts deliver instant joy quite like a classic chocolate fridge cake. This no-bake treat brings together rich dark chocolate, buttery digestive biscuits, pillowy mini marshmallows, and jewel-bright glacé cherries, all set into neat, sliceable squares. There's no oven involved, which makes it a brilliant choice for warm afternoons or busy days when time is short. The magic lies in the contrast: snappy chocolate against soft marshmallow, crunchy biscuit against chewy cherry.
A cordial, in the British sense, is a concentrated fruit syrup that you dilute to taste with still or sparkling water — not to be confused with the American cordial, which is a sweet liqueur. This one captures the height of summer in a bottle: a deep ruby concentrate of cherries and mixed berries, sharpened with lemon and just sweet enough to balance the fruit. Stir a splash into a glass of cold sparkling water for an instant summer drink, or over ice with a mint sprig for something a little more grown-up.
